Running the Copy-VMGuestFile cmdlet on Windows Server 2012 fails with the error: Unable to access file
Article ID: 341989
Updated On:
Products
VMware vSphere ESXi
Issue/Introduction
Symptoms:
- Running the Copy-VMGuestFile cmdlet on Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012, and Windows Server 2012 R2 fails.
- You see the error:
Unable to access file unspecified filename
Environment
VMware vSphere PowerCLI 5.0.1
VMware vSphere PowerCLI 5.0
VMware vSphere PowerCLI 5.5
VMware vSphere PowerCLI 5.0
VMware vSphere PowerCLI 5.5
Resolution
To troubleshoot this issue:
- Run this script to identify if the problem is with the API itself or in the configuration of the windows virtual machine:
$vm = Get-VM "enterVMName"
$file = Get-Item "c:\source.txt" #Create a text file and give the path where the file is located.
$destination = "c:\destination.txt"
$force = $false # e.g. overwrite any existing file with this name
$auth = New-Object VMware.Vim.NamePasswordAuthentication
$auth.interactiveSession = $false
$auth.username = "enterusernamehere"
$auth.password = "enterpasswordhere"
$fileAttributes = New-Object VMware.Vim.GuestFileAttributes
$guestFileManager = Get-View -Id 'GuestFileManager-guestOperationsFileManager'
$uploadUrl = $guestFileManager.InitiateFileTransferToGuest($vm.Id, $auth, $destination, $fileAttributes, $file.Length, $force)
$webClient = New-Object System.Net.WebClient
$webClient.UploadFile($uploadUrl, "PUT", $file.FullName)
Note: The script directly uses the vSphere API and uploads a single file from the local machine to a virtual machine.
If the problem still persists after running the preceding script, use one of these options to identify if the issue is with the Windows operating system.
- Verify the user account control settings within the local security policy.
- Verify permissions for the user account within the effected folder.
- Add a user to the folder explicitly.
Additional Information
For more information, see:
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